<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Here You Are (Like I Hoped You Would Be) by Starchild (DouxAnge)</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29596041">Here You Are (Like I Hoped You Would Be)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DouxAnge/pseuds/Starchild'>Starchild (DouxAnge)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bats According to Stars [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bruce is a good dad, Damian is trying, No Beta, Tags Are Hard, Talia is a really bad parent</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:42:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>817</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29596041</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DouxAnge/pseuds/Starchild</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce is doing his best, Damian is adjusting.<br/>No one is having a good time.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bats According to Stars [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2173989</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Here You Are (Like I Hoped You Would Be)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Glancing at my watch for the thousandth time since leaving the house, I let a world-weary sigh escape my chest.  Damian adjusts his grip on my hand, and I smile down at him.  His thumb is jammed in his mouth, but he smiles back anyway.  My eyes do another sweep of the crowd, searching for Talia.  She was supposed to be here already, yet still we wait.  Seriously, she only gets to see Damian twice a year.  Why be late?  Damian squeals suddenly, dropping my hand and racing into the crowd.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Damian!” I shout, taking off after the four year old.  People jump out of my way, some watching me with wide eyes as I chase my son.  Very quickly I lose sight of him.  Panic blossoms in my chest, and I call out frantically.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Hello, my sweet Dami,” Talia sings, somewhere off to my left.  “Did you chase after me and leave your father behind?”  A small growl slips out of me as I stalk towards her voice.  When I finally reach them, Talia is tossing a giggling Damian up into the air.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Talia,” I say, drawing her attention to me.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Hello, Beloved.”  She twirls Damian around before holding him out towards me.  “How have you been?”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I ignore her in favor of scolding Damian.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“What have I told you about running ahead of me?” I ask sternly, causing Damian’s green eyes to drop to the ground.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Not to,” he answers softly.  “Have to stay with you.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“That’s right.  You scared me, Dami.  Don’t do that again.”  He nods before burying his face in my chest.  Talia is watching me with her arms crossed, disapproval radiating off of her.  I scowl.  “You don’t get to judge me for how I raise my child, Talia.  You left him on my doorstep and disappeared.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I said nothing, Beloved, nor was I going to.  Not in front of sweet Dami, at least,” she purrs, smiling at me.  It sends a chill down my spine.  “Besides.  I left him in your care simply to keep him away from Father.  Despite what you may believe, Beloved, I love our son.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>My phone rings in the pocket of my jacket, so I shift Damian around enough to pull it out.  Alfred’s contact info flashes across the screen.  With a sigh, I crouch down and place Damian on his feet before taking a few steps away to speak with Alfred.  It makes me nervous, but alas.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Sir, just calling to confirm pick-up location and time,” the man states.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Outside the park at three thirty, Alfred.”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Of course, Bruce.  How is Damian faring?”  A sigh, but I turn around to answer anyway.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>My heart drops to my toes when I don’t see Damian and Talia standing behind me.  Preliminary crowd search proves fruitless.  My blood turns to slush in my veins.  Alfred’s voice sounds faintly from the phone in my hand, but I can’t hear anything over blood rushing through my ears.  No one in the immediate vicinity saw the pair leave.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“She took him,” I mumble.  “Damian’s gone.”</em>
</p><p>-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.</p><p>I sit up with a start, panic building steadily in my chest as I stare out over the dark room.  My eyes shift over to the clock on my nightstand, and I relax slightly.  As silently as possible, I slip out of my room and down the hall to Damian’s door.  I take a calming breath before easing the door open.  It creaks slightly, and I freeze.  No sound from inside the room, so I nudge it open enough to slip through.  Damian is wedged onto the window sill, headphones resting over his ears.  Seeing my son puts to rest any remaining panic, leaving me to just stand in his doorway.  </p><p>“How long are you going to stand in my doorway like a lunatic, Father?”  the twelve-year-old asks softly, turning to face me.  In the half-light, his eyes seem to glow slightly.  </p><p>“Long enough to convince myself you’re actually here again,” I whisper, smiling at him.  My son hums before turning back to the window.  His head dips ever so slightly with whatever song is playing through his headphones, a habit he’s formed over the last few months to let me know he’s done talking.  With a sigh, I turn to leave.</p><p>“I remember what it was like before,” he states suddenly.  “If I seem unhappy, I can assure you it isn’t your fault.”  Glancing over my shoulder reveals Damian still gazing out the window, but the blinking light of his headphones has disappeared.  He turned off his headphones.  A small smile lifts the corners of my mouth at the realization.  </p><p>“You can talk to me if you need it, Dami.  I’ll always be here.”</p><p>When he doesn’t acknowledge me, I mumble a goodbye and close the door behind me.  It isn’t like before, but I have my child again and that’s all I want.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>